Our Planning Board on June 13, by a 5-0 vote, concluded that the town’s zoning ordinance means that no new commercial building that exceeds 40,000 square feet may be approved in Walpole. It rejected the interpretation that any size building could be acceptable so long as businesses—or “establishments” as the ordinance calls them—do not exceed 40,000 square feet.
Despite the vote’s settling a long-pending issue, Walpole State Representative, Selectman and Planning Board Liaison Sheldon Sawyer was quoted last week in the Keene Sentinel as saying, “It was my own personal understanding that this [zoning ordinance] referred to a limitation from an establishment such as Wal-Mart. It never mentions ‘building’.”
Sawyer continued, “I’m a strong believer in both property rights and the right of private enterprise. They have the market research. They’ve determined what size store they think they can put in and make a profit…That’s why we originally had zoning set up that way. It allowed private enterprise to do what they think they can do under the current regulations.”
Well, let’s think about that…
In the first place our zoning ordinance does specifically name “a building” as the subject of the clause the Board interpreted last week. See the relevant text of the zoning ordinance set out at the end of this editorial.
Second, while Mr. Sawyer may be willing to allow private enterprise “to do what they think they can do under the current regulations”, I’m not. And I don’t think the town is either. That’s why the town set up the Planning Board and the Zoning Board to study major development applications and to apply the regulations in the first place.
Walpole needs development and developers to bring needed growth in housing and commercial activity. Still, someone needs to represent the values, wants and needs of the townspeople when proposals are made and not to assume, ahead of time, that developers will consider those values, wants and needs. There may be many businesses whose market research might suggest building in Walpole but whose implications for the town, whether in traffic attracted, in waste materials or noise created or in out-of-scale ugliness, we would not want. We rely on the Planning Board enforcing our ordinances to keep out those kinds of adverse growth.
The better answer, I suggest to Mr. Sawyer, is not carte blanche for developers but rather communication and collaboration between our town government, our citizens and those who wish to build here to see that everyone’s interests are respected and balanced and to see that the goals of our Master Plan and the words and spirit of our zoning ordinances are applied.
Personally, I hope Berkshire Development returns to Walpole with an attractive, creative and profitable plan that can serve the growing commercial needs of the town while respecting the town’s values and regulations. And I hope that Mr. Sawyer will respect the actual language and goals of our laws and not simply stand aside to allow developers “to do what they think they can do.”
We’ve seen in many other communities what happens when developers are allowed “do what they think they can do.” Walpole has protected something quite special here to date, and the Planning Board’s recent decision was a very positive step for our future. Let’s continue to be vigilant about the dimensions and nature of our growth.
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The official town website at www.walpolenh.us sets out the complete zoning and site plan ordinances. The relevant part of Article VI, Section B Permitted Uses of the zoning ordinance reads as follows:
Uses Permitted:
A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot may be used or occupied only for the following purposes and in accordance with the following provisions:
- Any use permitted in Residential District Type B under the same provisions as apply to residences in said district.
2. Lodging houses, hotels, motels, inns and tourist cabins including such retail businesses within these buildings as is conducted for the convenience of the guests herein.
3. Shops, restaurants and other retail establishments not exceeding 40,000 square feet in gross floor area.
4. Theaters, halls, clubs and amusement centers.
5. Greenhouses and florist shops.
6. Undertaking establishments.
7. Business and professional offices and banks.